The Celtics title defense ended in embarrassing fashion. Now comes an offseason of uncertainty.
The title defense is over for the Boston Celtics. Boston went out with a whimper Friday night, getting absolutely slaughtered by the New York Knicks, 119-81, at Madison Square Garden to lose their second-round playoff series in six games.
This is not at all how the summer was supposed to go for the Celtics, who were looking to become the NBA's first repeat champion since the Golden State Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. Instead, they became the fourth straight defending champ to fall in the second round.
Now, Boston's summer is beginning earlier than anyone wanted. Instead of a parade and a ton of confetti, this offseason will be filled with a lot of uncertainty on Causeway Street.
Celtics get embarrassed by Knicks
The entire series against the Knicks was a disaster and an abject failure for the Celtics. They owned the Knicks during the regular season and beat them all four times they squared off. The Celtics raised their 2024 banner in front of the Knicks on Opening Night and proceeded to crush their Eastern Conference foe, 132-109. Three of those four victories were by double digits.
But the Knicks completely flipped the script in the playoffs. The Celtics lost the first two games of the series at home despite leading by 20 points in the second half of each game. After blowing out the Knicks in Game 3 in New York, the Celtics once again let a double-digit lead slip away in Game 4 to fall into a 3-1 hole.
The most costly loss that night was superstar Jayson Tatum, who suffered a ruptured Achilles with just a few minutes remaining. Losing Tatum obviously put a giant pothole in the road to a repeat. But losing Tatum was no excuse for losing Game 4; the Knicks were up nine when he went down after erasing a 14-point second-half deficit.
Boston bounced back in Game 5 and won by 25 on their home court thanks to a complete team effort, including huge nights from Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and reserve big man Luke Kornet. For at least one night, there was some hope the Tatum-less Celtics might be able to do some damage.
But then the Celtics suffered one of the franchise's worst postseason losses Friday night to lose the series and end their season. The Knicks got up early and never looked back, leading by as many as 41 points to cap off their six-game series win. The Celtics were a step slow on both ends of the floor throughout the game, as the Knicks outhustled them for 25 second-chance points and outmuscled them for 48 points in the paint. There was nothing redeeming from the Celtics from their embarrassing Game 6.
The Knicks deserve a lot of credit for completely outplaying the Celtics in crunch time for three games, and then absolutely trouncing the defending champs to secure the franchise's first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years. But the Celtics did a lot to give them this series.
The Celtics blew any shot at repeating by blowing those first two games of the series. Their offense wasn't efficient against the New York defense throughout set, they struggled with the three-ball for large stretches, and late defensive lapses were common in the series.
Winning one title in the NBA isn't easy, let alone winning back-to-back crowns. But to lose in such disappointing, embarrassing fashion is not the way anyone thought the defending champs would go out -- especially to the Knicks.
"Losing to the Knicks feels like death," Brown said Friday night. "But I was always taught that there is life after death."
Now we're all left wondering what the Celtics are going to look like next season, and when they'll be back in the championship conversation.
What's next for the Boston Celtics?
The future is somewhat murky for the Celtics right now. Barring an incredible recovery, Tatum is likely going to miss the entire 2025-26 season. There's a chance he could return in 8-9 months, but he probably won't be his usual self until the the 2026-27 season -- if he does return to form after such a devastating injury.
The absence of Tatum creates a lot of uncertainty about the road ahead for the Celtics. Changes are coming this summer, but how drastic will they be?
The championship window for the team that brought home Banner 18 is likely closed now, as veterans like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis could be dealt away in the offseason as a way for the franchise's new ownership to get under the second apron and avoid a hefty, hefty luxury tax bill for a team that probably won't contend for a title.
Holiday is turning 35 this summer, but he still brings a lot on the defensive end and even more to the locker room. Several teams will be calling Brad Stevens about Holiday's services.
We're not sure if the same can be said about Porzingis, who has one year left on his contract. He was instrumental to last year's incredible regular season before he battled injuries throughout the playoffs, and then battled a mysterious illness at the end of this regular season and through the postseason. It left him a shell of a shell of his usual self; Porzingis was more of a detriment than a unicorn whenever he was on the floor.
Chances are Brown, White, and Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard will be back, but you never really know in the NBA. Given the fact Luka Doncic was traded at the deadline, just about anyone could be moved in the Association. In terms of free agency, veteran Al Horford and Kornet are set to hit the open market.
Whatever happens, the Celtics are going to look a lot different when they take the floor to start next season. There will be no Tatum for a while, and there will probably be a few other members of the 2024 championship squad no longer in green.
Last year's banner will always hang in TD Garden. But the sour taste from the team's failed bid at a repeat -- topped with a blowout loss to the Knicks -- is going to take a while to go away.
"You just take this with a chin up," Brown said Friday. "I know Boston, it looks gloomy with JT being out and ending the year. But there's a lot to look forward to I want the city to feel excited about. This is not the end."
